Golf ball retriever attachment and combination thereof with a golf club



S. F. BAKER Oct. 16, 1962 GOLF BALL RETRIEVER ATTACHMENT AND COMBINATION THEREOF WITH A GOLF CLUB Filed Dec 28 1959 INVENT OR Scott E Ba Ker- United States Patent Office 3,958,757 Patented Get. 16, 1962 3,058,767 GOLF BALL RETRIEVER ATTACHMENT AND COMBINATIGN THEREOF WITH A GOLF CLUB Scott F. Baker, General Delivery, Burlington, N.C. Filed Dec. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 862,178 7 Claims. (Cl. 294-19) This invention relates to a golf ball retriever attachment for use with golf clubs and also to the combination of such an attachment with a golf club.

In the game of golf it frequently occurs that a ball, after having been driven, comes to rest in a comparatively inaccessible spot, as, for instance, in a pond or muddy area, or in an area infested with poisonous weeds, such as poison oak, poison ivy, etc. In such event, it is difficult for the player to retrieve the ball Without actually entering the pond, muddy area, or poisonous-weed infested area, wtih the obvious attendant discomforts and disadvantages. Because of this, many expedients have been utilized to make possible the retrieving of the ball from such an inaccessible location without necessity for the player entering the Water or other undesirable area. To this end, various attachments have been contrived for application to a golf club, either to the head end thereof, or to the handle end of the club. All of these, however, have involved inconveniences in the mode of application or attachment. Furthermore, in many instances they have been comparatively inefficient in operation, as well as expensive to produce.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the invention to provide an attachment of this general nature, which is simple and economical in its construction, and which may be readily applied to a golf club, whereby the handle or shaft of the club may in effect extend the reach of the user and further make possible the manipulation of the club, with its attached retriever element, solely by the use of one hand of the player, leaving his other hand free for balancing and/or support purposes.

It is a further important object to provide such an attachment, which is capable of economical manufacture, as an integral unit by usual means, from a single tubular length of flexible and preferably resilient material, such as polyethylene plastic, rubber-impregnated and/ or coated fabric, and the like, as will be readily apparent from the description hereinafter following.

It is a further object to provide such an attachment which, when applied to the head of the golf club, involves a novel and useful cooperation between the attachment and the golf club head, in which the golf club head coacts with the attachment to provide a stop for limiting the movement of the retrieved ball through or relative to the attachment. In its preferred form, the attachment is so arranged that portions thereof are deformed by cooperation with the golf club head to define a suitable stop for this purpose.

In order to achieve the foregoing objects and advantages, the ball retriever attachment of the invention comprises a preferably normally cylindrical open-ended tube, which may be considered as being subdivided in an axial direction into axially adjoining zones consisting of a clubhead-receiving end portion of continuous, unbroken circumference, a ball-receiving end portion which need not be of unbroken circumference, and a medial portion between said end portions of continuous circumference.

A novel and distinguishing aspect of the present invention consists in that the club head of the golf club is inserted into the club-head-receiving end portion of the attachment through a head insertion opening located generally medially of the length of the attachment, and the ball-receiving end portion of the attachment projects on the opposite side of the club shaft or shank portion from the free end of the club head. By thus being projected into and received in the club-head-receiving end portion of the attachment, the club head supports the attachment at this end and in addition serves to interiorly obstruct such end to prevent passage of the ball therethrough. Moreover, it is desirable to form the club-head-receiving opening simply as a circumferential slit extending but part Way around the open-ended tube, whereby the generally diagonal insertion of the club head into the tube will depress or indent the material of the tube adjoining said slit and thereby cause such material to be deformed to define a suitable stop for cooperation with the golf ball.

In order to further support the attachment on the golf club, the attachment is preferably provided with a supporting sling or loop secured thereto at an axial location displaced from the club-head-receiving end portion and adapted to encircle the shank portion of the club head.

In order to more specifically illustrate the invention, I have shown the preferred embodiment thereof, as well as its preferred mode of cooperation with a golf club, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the preferred form of ball retriever attachment per se of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the attachment as operatively applied to the head portion of a golf club, the usual shaft of the club being shown but fragmentarily and including an illustration in broken lines of a golf ball as operatively received and carried in the attachment;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of the structure of FIG- URE 2 as seen from the left-hand end of that figure, the ball being omitted.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings, there is shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, simply for purposes of illustration, the headed end of a golf club which is here exemplified as an iron, including the 'head itself generally designated H. The free end portion of this head is designated by the reference numeral '5 and its shank end portion is designated 6, same having an upwardly disposed and usually hollow shank 7, by which the club head is rigidly secured and supported in usual manner at the lower end of the usual club shaft or handle portion 8, the lattter being shown "but fragmentarily.

As is best shown in FIGURE 1, the ball retriever attachment per se is preferably formed of a length of tubular resiliently flexible material normally of cylindrical conformation, same being generally designated by the numeral 10. Such a tube 10 is chosen so that its interior diameter is of substantially the same or of slightly smaller size than the diameter of a usual golf ball. It may be integrally formed of polyethylene plastic, rubber (either artificial or natural), rubberor plastic-impregnated fabric, or the like, or in fact of any suitable material adapted to normally maintain a substantially cylindrical shape, but having sufiicient flexibility for the purposes hereinafter appearing.

For the purposes of this description, the tube 10' may be regarded as being subdivided axially into several different portions or zones, consisting of the club-headreceiving portion or zone 11, the ball-receiving end portion or zone 12, and the medial stop-forming portion 13.

An opening 14 through the cylindrical wall of the tube at the juncture of the portions 11 and 13 permits insertion of the free end 5 of the club head into the interior of the tube diagonally to the tube axis in such manner that the said free end of the club head may be snugly f-rictionally received within the club-end-receiving portion 11 and may project somewhat through the end 7 thereof, all as shown in FIGURE 2.

3 free end of the club head to thereby support the corresponding end of the attachment on the club head.

Although the opening 14 may assume various shapes and dispositions within the teachings of the invention, it has been found advantageous to form this opening as a slit 14 extending circumferentially part way only around the tube and preferably terminating at its opposite ends in circular enlargements, such as 14', for the purpose of preventing tearing of the material of the tube incident to stretching of the opening 14 by insertion of the club head.

With the opening 14 thus in the form of a circumferential slit, it will be noted by references to the 'FIG- URES 2 and 3 that the diagonally extending lower edge 9 of the club head functions to radially indent the material at the medial portion 13 of the tube adjoining slot 14, thus to form a stop or stop element for caction with the ball B to limit the movement of the latter toward the club head end portion 11. The indented stop element or area thus defined is designated by the reference character 15 in FIGURE 3 of the drawing.

In the absence of some means in addition to the band or portion 11 of the tube for securing the latter on the club head, it will be apparent that the tube 10 in its entirety may tend to swing or pivot about the club head from its said connection, particularly under the weight of the golf ball B received in the opposite or ball-receiving end portion 12. Accordingly, there is provided a further attaching means consisting of a suspension sling or loop 16, which is secured to the tube at one of its extremities preferably, though not necessarily, adjacent to the medial portion of the tube. The primary consideration is that the juncture or connection between the tube and this supporting sling 16 be axially spaced along the tube from the band or portion 11, which receives the free end portion '5 of the club head.

In order to provide for maximum simplification and economy of construction, such a sling is formed integrally with the tube by means of the relatively spaced slits 17 extending from the ball-receiving end of the tube toward the medial portion thereof and terminating in spaced relation to the slit 14 on the opposite side thereof from the medial portion 13. By these axial slits 17, the sling 16 is thus set off as a medial flap of thesame inherently flexible nature as the rest of the tube 10. The opening 18 through the flap, for the purpose of defining the sling or loop, as aforementioned, may constitute an axially extending slit terminating'in circular or rounded enlargements 18' at its opposite ends for the usual purpose of discouraging the tearing of the end portions of the slit as same is stretched. To the same end, the inner ends of the slits 17 may terminate in circular enlargements, such as 17', shown in FIGURE 1.

In order to apply the attachment to a golf club, the

free end of the golf club head is inserted into the ballreceiving end of the tube and thence outwardly through the slit 18 in the sling 16. Thereafter, the sling 16 is deflected radially outwardly or upwardly, as shown in 'FIGURE 2. The free end portion of the club is then pressed against the medial portion 13 of the tube to deflect same radially inwardly adjacent the slit 14, and the free end 5 of the club head H is then inserted through slit 14 into the tube 10 'and axially through the clubhead-receiving portion or band 11. The club with the aforesaid attachment is then ready for use.

In use, the club may be grasped by the free end portion of its handle and thereby manipulated to press the ballreceiving end portion of the attachment over a ball B, to urge the ball axially toward substantially the position shown in FIGURE 2. In the event the internal diameter of the tube 10 is not quite as large as the diameter of the ball B, the slot defined by the slits 17 and the upwardly folded or deflected element 16 will permit free resilient radial expansion of the said ball-receiving end, and, furthermore, the inherent resiliency of the material forming the tube will cause the ball to be resiliently gripped and retained. However, the device obviously will function quite well, even though the internal diameter of the tube is sufiicient to freely receive the ball without necessity for radial expansion. In such event, it may be employed in the manner of a scoop. Once the ball is received and positioned in the attachment 10, its

movement toward the end portion 11 thereof will be' limited through engagement with the inwardly deflected stop portion 15 or, if no such inwardly deflected portion is provided, by direct engagement with the club head itself. Moreover, due to the flexible and therefore collapible nature of the attachment 10, it may when detached from the club head be carried in the pocket of a player. Its construction and arrangement as above described obviously facilitate the application of the device to a golf club and its detachment therefrom, thus to greatly enhance its utility for the intended purposes.

-In this application I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of my invention, simply by way of illustration of the preferred mode of carrying out the invention. However, I recognize that the invention is capable of other embodiments and that its various details are susceptible of modification in various ways, all without departing from my invention as defined in the accompanying claims. Accordingly, the foregoing drawings and detailed description are to be construed as merely illustrative in nature and not as limiting the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with a golf club having a head including a free end portion and a shank portion, a ball retriever attachment, said attachment comprising a normally cylindrical open-ended tube of resiliently flexible material concentrically disposed about an axis and formed adjacent one end with an opening through its cylindrical wall, said club head being disposed through said opening diagonally to the axis of said tube with its free end snugly received in and supporting said one end of the tube, said club head obstructing the said one end of the tube to prevent the passage of a golf ball therethrough, the other end of said tube projecting to one side of said shank portion in an opposite direction from said end of the head, and its opening being unobstructed internally for free reception of a golf ball, said tube being formed with relatively spaced slits extending axially from its said other end and terminating medially of the tube in spaced relation from said opening to define between them an integral flexible flap of material, said flap of material being medially apertured and reversely bent from its con nection to the tube, and said shank portion extending through the aperture in said flap whereby the latter may function as a suspension sling for supporting the tube from the club. 7

2. The combination of elements as defined in claim 1, wherein said opening is in the form of a circumferential slit extending only partially around said tube, and said diagonally disposed club head forms an indentation in said tube on the side of said circumferential slit adjacent said other end to limit the movement of a golf ball through said tube.

3. 'In combination with a golf club having a head including a free end portion and a shank portion, a ball retriever attachment, said attachment comprising a normally cylindrical open-ended tube of resiliently flexible material concentrically disposed about an. axis and formed adjacent one end with an opening through its cylindrical Wall, said club head being disposed through said opening diagonally to the axis of said tube with its free end snugly received in and supporting said one end of the tube, said club head obstructing the said one end of the tube to prevent the free passage of a golf ball therethrough, the other end of said tube projecting to one side of said shank portion in an opposite direction from said free end of the head, and its opening being unobstructed internally for free reception of a golf ball.

4. The combination of elements as defined in claim 3, including a flexible suspension sling secured to said tube at a location spaced axially from said one end of the tube, said sling encircling said shank portion of the club head and supporting the tube therefrom.

5. The combination of elements as defined in claim 3, wherein said opening is in the form of a circumferential slit extending only partially around said tube, and said diagonally disposed club head forms an indentation in said tube on the side of said circumferential slit adjacent said other end to limit the movement of a golf ball through said tube.

6. A ball retriever attachment for a golf club comprising a normally cylindrical tube of flexible material open at both ends, said tube being formed adjacent one end with a circumferentially disposed slit extending only par tially therearound for reception of a golf club head, the tube being circumferentially continuous on one side of said slit to form a continuous band for receiving and supporting the tube on said club head, said tube being formed on the other side of said slit with relatively spaced axial slits extending from the end of said tube and terminating in spaced relation from said circumferential slit, the material between said slits being formed with a medial aperture therethrough and defining a flexible supporting sling for reception of the shank portion of the club head.

7. A ball retriever attachment for a golf club compris; ing a normally cylindrical open-ended tube of resiliently flexible material, said tube being formed medially of its length with an opening through its side Wall through which the head of a golf club may be inserted, said opening being in the form of a slit extending circumferentially only part way around said tube, whereby diagonal insertion of a golf club head into said opening will indent the material of said tube on one side of the opening, and a suspension sling integrally secured to the medial portion of said tube for supporting same from the club head, to further support the tube thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,523,942 Ciambriello Sept. 26, 1950 2,623,769 Kegley Dec. 30, 1952 2,760,807 Watson Aug. 28, 1956 

